After School Programs Return from Big-City Spring Breaks

The Metanoia Young Leaders Program’ 5^th graders once again spent their spring break visiting Washington D.C.  Each year the 5^th graders head to Washington D.C. as part of a rite of passage into the Civic Leaders Program, and as a reward for all their hard work as a Young Leader.  This year’s class of fifth graders included four girls: Donyai, Iluv, Liliana, and Eccence.  Accompanying them on their trip were Young Leaders Program Director Charmaine Townsend and Assistant Director Geraldine Ramirez. 

The group left for Washington on (date) on an Amtrak train.  None of the girls had ridden the Amtrak before and said it was a fun experience.  They were able to watch movies along the trip and had no trouble sleeping.  Everyone stayed at Calvary Baptist Church, a member of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, located in the heart of the downtown area.

The girls were exposed to some major landmarks and national treasures.  In addition to seeing both the Lincoln and Washington Memorials, they were able to visit some of the famous museums of the Washington Mall.  At the Smithsonian, the girls particularly liked viewing Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz and the dresses that current first lady Michelle Obama wore to the inaugural ball.  The girls also enjoyed the Air & Space Museum, where they were able to learn about the evolution of flight and see artifacts of the Wright Brothers’ first airplanes.  Another site that everyone enjoyed was the Washington D.C. zoo.  Eccence said this was her favorite part, because she had never before seen a tiger.

Another staple of Washington D.C. that they girls took part in was riding the Metro subway.  Although they said it was an experience, the girls agreed that it was a little too crowded to imagine taking every day.  None of the girls had ever visited a city as large as Washington before, and while they agreed it was a fun place to spend time in, also felt it would be hard to live there.  Iluv said that the noise of the big city was hard to deal with, and was kept up at night by the sounds of traffic. 

One of the days the students were walking around the city, Liliana found a wallet.  They found a woman’s business card in it containing her email address and were able to return it to its owner.  The woman who owned the wallet was so impressed with the integrity of the girls that she wrote them a thank you note that included a monetary donation to help keep the Young Leaders Program going strong.  In her note she wrote that “Your thoughtfulness will always be remembered.”

All in all, the girls really enjoyed the trip.  Donyai said “It was a great bonding experience for us.”  Metanoia strives to invest in the youth of the community, and we believe that taking our Young Leaders out of the Chicora/Cherokee pocket and exposing them to the big-city lifestyle of our nation’s capitol will go a long way in their paths to becoming leaders.

The Civic Leaders’ trip to Atlanta this spring break is the first in what co-directors David Hutchinson and Stacy Brown hope to become an annual event.  In its first year, David and Stacy took along five high school students: Kerionne, Desiree, Dashia, Rawshawnna, and Shatika.  Sixth grader Michael was also invited in reward for his outstanding academic achievements in earning all A’s and B’s and becoming his class president at Sixth Grade Academy.

 The group stayed at Park Avenue Baptist Church, another Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church.  Students got a chance to cut loose and enjoy their spring break by visiting the Underground Station Mall and spending a day at Six Flags: Great America amusement park.  However they were also able to take in a more educational experience in the trip by visiting the many sites and memorials dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  The Civic Leaders first visited the Martin Luther King Center for Social Change.  Students were able to tour the home Dr. King grew up in.  When showed a bedroom decorated with baseball paraphernalia the group was asked whether they thought it had belonged to Martin or his brother.  Without hesitation Michael answered correctly that it was Martin’s room because she knew he loved baseball.  Most of the Civic Leaders were surprised after the tour of his home.  Said Desiree, “I always assumed that he had come from a really poor background, and was surprised to learn he had grown up in the middle class.”

The Civic Leaders paid a visit to the tomb of Dr. King and his wife, the late Coretta Scott King.  Not far away was the eternal flame memorial dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr.  Ninth grader Kerionne said the trip was the first time he had been to Atlanta or any big city: “I was surprised at how many memorials to Dr. King there were in Atlanta.  It was really interesting to see how he lived.”  Before the group left they made sure to visit Ebenezer Church, where both Dr. King and his father had preached.

Stacy said that one of the main objectives of the trip was the bonding aspect that it provided.  “In spending time together outside their normal environment, students were really able to open up about subjects that they had never addressed in the classrooms.”  Stacy also said that the trip really taught the students that a world of opportunities awaits them outside of the Chicora/Cherokee community they are so accustomed to.  Shatika, who had also never been to Atlanta, said that it would be hard to imagine living in a city with so many people.

One thing Stacy and David hope to add to future spring break trips would be visiting some of the nearby Historic Black Colleges and Universities, as Civic Leaders approach the age where they begin thinking of pursuing higher education.  The Civic Leaders Program is making great strides in building future leaders by exposing them to experiences that they otherwise may have never had.

_________________________________________________________________________

Owner-Occupied Repair Saves Couple's Home

Gene Burns has lived on Admiral Street his whole life, and is grateful that he can continue doing so, thanks to Metanoia.  The oldest resident of the street located off of Dorchester Road in Chicora/Cherokee in North Charleston, Burns moved out of his parents’ house six doors down in 1961.  As a professional construction worker, he had made a living working on homes.  He took a great deal of pride in the many installments and upgrades he personally added to his own house over the course of over forty years. 

However as age began taking its toll and his health became more of an issue, Mr. Burns was unable to attend to his leaking roof.  It became so bad that he and his wife, Mary, had to set out pots and pans to catch the rain.  Over three years, the water damage threatened the structural integrity of the roof, and Burns, who had put so much hard work into his home, says that he became depressed at the helplessness he faced in not being able to make the repairs himself.  Living on a fixed income, he was   unable to afford to have someone do it for him. 

But Burns’s despair turned to hope when he noticed the sign outside of a home down the street, which was being rehabbed by Metanoia’s Housing Program.  Metanoia Housing Program Director Tony Joyner receives funds from South Carolina’s State Housing Trust Fund to perform owner-occupied home repairs in the  southern half of North Charleston.  Gene Burns called the number on the sign advertising this service, and after being put on a brief waiting list, met with Tony to discuss what could be done to save his home. 

Tony works with a professional contractor on owner-occupied repairs.  It was determined that the $20,000 project would include repairing Mr. Burns’s large roof, performing a total rehabilitation on a bathroom which had been damaged through the leaking, and repairing patio steps with a new handrail added to them.  The project, which began with the initial meetings early in January, is now pretty much complete.  Gene and Mary Burns are extremely pleased with the work that was done and are very grateful to Metanoia and Tony for performing this service.  Gene especially credits Tony for being so helpful in explaining all the details that would go into the project, and for being so accommodating through the whole affair.

Gene and Mary say they love where they live.  They love their neighbors and described their street as a family.  With Metanoia performing two other owner-occupied repairs on the street, the Burns are grateful to Metanoia for helping to build back a once flourishing community.  This is just one of many examples of how Metanoia’s Housing Program is helping to increase the strength of our community by providing home owners with a quality place to live.